Daphne Guinness on the Unveiling of her Collaboration with Shaun Leane

The artist in collaboration with jeweler Shaun Leane worked on an 18-carat hand crafted, diamond encrusted, armour glove, revealed at a private party hosted by Jay Jopling last night in London.

I think the world is divided into two kinds of people, those who revel in embracing strangers, and those who hide. When I was a child I fell into the latter category, and despite people’s perceptions, to a large extent I still do. Perhaps this explains my lifelong fascination with knights. Their mystical grandeur enthralled me when I was a little girl, and I was drawn to their protective adornment. Like masks, armor disguises identity and shields its wearer from the outside world. In my mind the masks we wear make us human; they are a symbol of our inner vulnerability and our will to summon strength.

In the past I have alluded to conversations that took place between jeweler Shaun Leane and me, leading to the glove’s conception. Really, though, I suppose the idea was born one night in East London. If my memory serves me correctly, Gareth Pugh was DJing that evening. The obstacle of dancing strangers and champagne breath was a little overwhelming, and I sought solace in two of my dear friends, one of whom was Alexander McQueen (Lee), who happened to be there. Before long we had formed a human chain and tumbled into a car together. We were exhausted. “I need armor,” I laughed. Lee gave me a knowing look. “Don’t we all,” he replied.

Within a month, sitting in a garden in St. John’s Wood, I found my hand in a bucket. What a long time ago that was, and how much has happened since then. What followed was straight swap collaboration, and one that has proved uncannily and sadly true to its conception. With my imagination and Shaun’s skills (unfortunately I can’t add goldsmith guild to my résumé), we embarked on a journey. Years of scheming and planning this intricate piece of armor, of testing the waters of design and planning on how to make it possible. Shaun made a mold of my arm, various prototype cuffs were made, and ideas spiraled.

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Photo: Rachel Chandler

The detail in its design is hugely symbolic. The birds with which it is embellished denote freedom from the material world. The gold from which it is molded was thought to have magical powers. Like the knights of my childhood daydreams, this beautiful glove is resilient and beautiful, strong despite its finery.

I hardly need say that the glove is hugely personal to us, and it is impossible not to cite Lee when I speak about it. Lee was not the designer, but his presence lingers in its creation. It was a great sadness to me that he never saw it completed, but as was so often the case with him, he knew more than he let on. It turns out he’d been keeping a much closer eye than I’d imagined on our little project. In a recent conversation with Shaun, I became aware that he’d had a direct influence on one particular detail. Of this I had been previously ignorant, and I must admit it made me smile to imagine him somewhere, pulling strings from invisible wings. The memory of Lee lives and breathes in our glove.

It is ironic that if he had lived, last evening’s plans would have played out very differently. He had intended to make a dress to be worn in tandem with the glove, and though we never got so far as to fulfill its design, I am certain it would have been mesmerizing. Alexander McQueen had a tendency to steal a show, and it would have been my privilege to let him go mad in setting up the glove’s primary exhibition. We have struggled on without him, and it is what it is.

This project had been a long road to completion, where one was reaching for great heights only to be thrust into deep despair. The journey up to this point at which I now find myself has been punctuated by tragedy, most noticeably the loss of our dear friends Isabella Blow and Alexander McQueen. But Shaun and I developed something that is an extension of myself and my ethos. It is a tribute to friendship. At the end of the day, love and friendship are all we have. To me this represented an elucidation of fulfilled love between friends. It reflected the truth, beauty, and trust that exist between them. This is precious as it is rare, and I thank my stars I experienced it.

I always harbored a desire to attend a party and remain unseen by all attending it, like a fly on the wall. Last night, I was seen, but not heard. Nanny would’ve be awfully proud. I was lying down, removed from all the gossip around me, silenced and still—evocative of a knight lying in state. At least I had my armor.

It seems I must let go of this conjunction of alchemy that became something tangible. Had I known at the start the variant of meanings this piece would encapsulate, I doubt I would have believed it. Looking back, I suppose it was inevitable. A lot of love has been poured into this glove, and it has been nothing if not a labor. I have worn it, and will continue to, but it was time for this project to be laid to rest. Rather like me, it seems!